Sister Breanne Metcalf- Boise, Idaho Mission: Monday July 28, 2014

"We aren't here on Earth to earn Heaven, but to learn of Heaven"‏

This week was one of those weeks that was the "highest of highs" in the mission.

I will start from the beginning of the week and then try to move on from there.

We went on two exchanges this week, I left the area for both those exchanges. I love seeing the different areas and even though they are only 5 minutes apart, they are so different. On the first exchange we had, we had dinner with this awesome family with an amazing story. They were both less active when they got married and a few years ago they had some experiences that brought them back to the church. About a year ago they got sealed in the temple and now have a little boy, and they are such missionary minded. They had invited over 2 less actives in the ward that the sisters are working with, we had a good discussion with them and their desire to come back to church. On the second exchange, I went with the Spanish Hermanas. Can I just tell you, that after that day I have decided how grateful I am that the Lord called me to English speaking. I know I wouldn't be able to survive, but I was able to pick up words here and there to understand what they were talking about. It was actually funny because we did some contacting that day and there were a couple of times when someone would answer the door and they would not look Hispanic. We both would kind of pause for a minute before we started talking in English. In one of these instances we talked to a lady for a few minutes at the door and soon found out that her husband is a Pastor at a church up in Eagle. She wasn't too interested in what we had to say but did say she appreciated what we did. As we were saying goodbye she had asked us if we would like some water, I didn't really want any, but when I looked at the other sister I had this feeling to say yes, so I agreed. She invited us in her home and we ended up talking for 10 more minutes. We testified to her about the Book of Mormon and Joesph Smith, she even asked us about our testimonies. It was a neat experience until she started asking us some deep doctrine questions. You could tell she was trying to contradict us, but I always tried to bring it back to the basics. I tried to give her a Restoration pamphlet, but she wasn't interested. But honestly walking away from that situation I felt good, it was a great opportunity to testify and open our mouths even though the outcome wasn't what we were wanting. I have been reading a lot of different talks this week and one thing that stuck out to me is that "When we don't open our mouths in fear that we are going to offend someone, in the process we are not saving them". I really liked that and I feel like I have been trying to search for more and more opportunities to be able to open my mouth more and try to run into people more to share what I know. It has been a really neat experience.

So I don't know if you all remember Ann, i use to talk about her all the time, but she kind of wasn't progressing or keeping her commitments so we kind of dropped her a few months ago. Well a couple of weeks ago we went back to check on her and have really been trying to work with her. She finally met with the Stake President and her Bishop and we saw her last night and she told us that they set a Baptismal date for September 6th. I am so excited and happy for her. It has been almost over a year since the missionaries have been trying to get her re-baptized. She was so excited that she said she wanted to tell us first because we were the missionaries that really gave her that push that she needed. Even though transfers are coming up she wanted to make sure that I would be there since I will most likely be the one leaving.

It is just amazing the success that our area is receiving. We had a lot of less actives show up to church on Sunday as well, I just love seeing them walk into the door.

Okay now for the highlight of the week......CHARLIE GOT BAPTIZED!!!!! It was such an amazing day, we got to meet most of his wife's family(she is from a family of 14). There was proably at least 50 people from her family and about over 100 people at the baptism. We filled up the whole primary room, it was such a great program. Charlie was so excited and you could just tell that he was ready. There were so many missionaries there as well that had taught him previously. Sister Hatch and I both just started crying when he got baptized, I cannot explain to you the feeling of seeing him come up out of the water. He just glowed and he looked so happy, he even gave a thumbs up, he is still good old Charlie. He was just beaming after that and was just giving everyone hugs and everything. The next day at church when he got confirmed it was amazing, as well as I got to be there for him to receive the Priesthood,which was the first time for me to see for my investigators. Bishop talked about how he had interviewed him before and how he could tell that Charlie knew how serious the Priesthood was and how much he could bless his family with it. In both his confirmation and receiving the Priesthood his brother in law talked about him and his family getting sealed in the temple. Bishop talked about that as well when it was just the family in the room when he received the Priesthood. I just started crying and had this amazing feeling of joy thinking about his family being sealed together forever. So what is it you asked that got Charlie to finally get baptized? It was my companion to be honest with you. As I have mentioned before my companion has a stutter, just like his daughter. So as we worked with him he realized that she was a sign from Heavenly Father that it was now time for him to change. It is amazing when investigators see those signs. He talked about how we both had changed him and how grateful he is for that. I cannot explain the joy from this weekend and seeing the joy that he now has in his life. I know that I am going to come back for when he goes through the temple and gets sealed to his family. I feel like it is so hard to convey my feelings over an email. I feel like each time one of the Lord's investigators gets Baptized that I have worked with I always think "If this is the last one I have on my mission I am okay with that and it is worth it" But then someone else decides to enter into the fold and it brings me so much more joy. I am just so excited for this step that Charlie has taken in his life, it has been a long time coming. Next week he will be passing the sacrament and I am excited to see that.

As we were talking to bishop after everything he told us how grateful he is for us and how much good he has done in the ward and how much he truly loves us. As we were there talking it just hit me how this won't last forever that I won't be here in the Shoshone ward forever that I won't be able to serve a mission forever. It made me realize how precious these last 6-8 months are going to be for me and how I need to make every moment count. Not that I already haven't been doing that already but I feel like it gave me that drive to dig even more deeper. I can't tell you all how much I have really come to love this area and the people and how they have all changed my life so much.

I hope you all know as well that each and everyone of you have changed and effected my life as well to help me be where I am at today and to become the person that I am today. I love you all so much and pray for you everyday. Know that I am being blessed and just loving my time out here in the Mission. There is no greater feeling in the world when you help someone enter into the Lord's fold or you help one of those lost sheep to come back into the fold. I have seen that happen so much on my mission, but especially these past few months. I am so grateful for the people the Lord has placed into my path. I wish I could just tell you everything from this week, but I guess I will just have to have you read my journal when I get home. There is too much stuff that happens in one week of a missionary's life. I love you all so much!!!

ALL IN!

Love

Sister Metcalf